Wolf Reintroduction to Yellowstone Park
Wolf Reintroduction
To Yellowstone Park
Ted Fessides
Ecology, Summer Semester 2011
Professor Thomas Heasley
July 15, 2011
Contents Introduction 3 History 4 The Cons of Wolf Reintroduction 6 Pros of Wolf Reintroduction 7 Summary 9 Works Cited 11
Reintroduction of Wolves at Yellowstone Park Introduction While highly controversial, the reintroduction of wolves in Yellowstone Park has provided many beneficial ecological changes to the entire parks ecosystem. After a nearly 70 year absence, in January of 1995, 14 wolves from separate packs were captured in the Canadian Rockies and transported to Yellowstone National Park in the states of Wyoming, Montana and Idaho (Sanders par. 2). The Canis Lupus or more commonly known as the gray wolf is the largest wild member in the Canine family. While once covering vast areas of the North American and European continent, the grey wolf was hunted to near extinction in the 1900’s due to mostly folk lore and fear. There were at least 136 confirmed kills between 1914 and 1926, and by the 1970’s biologist could find no evidence of a wolf population in Yellowstone Park. (National Park Service par. 1). Wolves were highly populated when the park opened in 1872 but due to predator control measures, lack of legal protection for the species, and the classification as a nuisance animal all played factors that led to their absence in the park. It was for this reason that the gray wolf was placed on the Endangered Species List in 1974 and it has taken until 2008 and more than 27 million dollars to bring the species back into a suitable population and remove them from the endangered list (Associated Press par. 12). The move to reintroduce the wolf was very controversial with conservational and environmental groups pushing and supporting the measure but many ranchers and farmers in the area being very wary of it. But there was no denying that the ecosystem of the park had changed since the wolves’ absence, with a large
To Yellowstone Park
Ted Fessides
Ecology, Summer Semester 2011
Professor Thomas Heasley
July 15, 2011
Contents Introduction 3 History 4 The Cons of Wolf Reintroduction 6 Pros of Wolf Reintroduction 7 Summary 9 Works Cited 11
Reintroduction of Wolves at Yellowstone Park Introduction While highly controversial, the reintroduction of wolves in Yellowstone Park has provided many beneficial ecological changes to the entire parks ecosystem. After a nearly 70 year absence, in January of 1995, 14 wolves from separate packs were captured in the Canadian Rockies and transported to Yellowstone National Park in the states of Wyoming, Montana and Idaho (Sanders par. 2). The Canis Lupus or more commonly known as the gray wolf is the largest wild member in the Canine family. While once covering vast areas of the North American and European continent, the grey wolf was hunted to near extinction in the 1900’s due to mostly folk lore and fear. There were at least 136 confirmed kills between 1914 and 1926, and by the 1970’s biologist could find no evidence of a wolf population in Yellowstone Park. (National Park Service par. 1). Wolves were highly populated when the park opened in 1872 but due to predator control measures, lack of legal protection for the species, and the classification as a nuisance animal all played factors that led to their absence in the park. It was for this reason that the gray wolf was placed on the Endangered Species List in 1974 and it has taken until 2008 and more than 27 million dollars to bring the species back into a suitable population and remove them from the endangered list (Associated Press par. 12). The move to reintroduce the wolf was very controversial with conservational and environmental groups pushing and supporting the measure but many ranchers and farmers in the area being very wary of it. But there was no denying that the ecosystem of the park had changed since the wolves’ absence, with a large
Cited: John W. Duffield, Chris J. Neher, and David A. Patterson. "Wolf Recovery in Yellowstone: Park Visitor Attitudes,Expenditures and Economic Impact." The George Wright Forum (2008): 17. Sanders, Kevin. Yellowstone-Bearman. 2009. 2 July 2011 .